The following is an op-ed I wrote as an intern with the Nourishing the Planet sustainable agriculture project. It discusses the importance of maintaining a sustainable food system and its links to climate change and promoting healthy diets. Written for an audience in New York, it is one of a series of similar pieces targeted to various cities throughout the country.
The food system is broken. In New York and around the world, vast amounts of food are wasted while many go hungry. One third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and the number of food-related diseases is on the rise.
As Earth Day approaches on April 22, it is important to recognize the inextricable link between a stable and healthy food system and efforts to preserve the environment. Whether you live in New York or the developing world, the food you eat is an essential aspect of both personal and environmental well-being.
As highlighted in the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition’s Eating Planet, the use of sustainable farming practices can help mitigate climate change, improve soil fertility, and preserve biodiversity. These innovations help nourish communities while maintaining a dedication to protecting the environment.
Food for all.
Hunger is not limited to the developing world. In fact, approximately 1.5 million New York City residents live in households that face food insecurity, one-fourth of which are children. According to a survey done by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, the city’s emergency food providers, such as soup kitchens and food pantries, recently reported a 20.8 percent increase in demand for services, making this issue relevant to the lives of many New Yorkers.
There is no single solution to the issue of hunger, but there are a number of ways people can get involved to lessen its burden. By reducing the amount of food wasted, it is possible to increase availability and access to food for poorer residents. The New York City government offers composting services to its residents, using the compost in parks and community gardens throughout the city. It also operates the NYC Compost Project, which is an outreach program that provides education and technical assistance to residents, nonprofits, businesses, and community-based composting operations.
Food for sustainable growth.
Organic agriculture and agro-ecological farming practices are emerging as accepted ways of ensuring stable food supplies for growing populations. These methods help to provide communities with sufficient food, while preserving the environment so that it may continue to produce into the future.
Urban agriculture in particular is becoming increasingly popular, as most of the world’s population moves into cities. New York is home to a growing urban agriculture movement, driven by local farmers and nonprofit groups. The nonprofit group Just Food, which connects residents and communities to healthy local foods, recently teamed up with an alliance of local food organizations to create Farm School NYC: The New York City School of Urban Agriculture. The school provides professional urban agriculture training, and offers a community-based certificate program.
Food for health.
A food system that produces easily accessibly unhealthy food has led to an increase in overweight and obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of adults and 13 million children in the U.S. are obese. In New York City, about 32 percent of adults are overweight, and 22 percent are obese. It is estimated that nearly half of all elementary school children are above a healthy weight. In order to address this problem, accessibility to nutritious foods must be improved in order for families to establish healthy eating practices.
Fortunately, many in New York are working to attack this problem by promoting equal access to healthy food, focusing on providing schoolchildren and low-income communities opportunities to eat healthier. The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food provides plant-based foods and nutrition education in schools to educate schools and communities. The nonprofit GrowNYC uses environmental programs to empower city residents to take environmental protection and food production into their own hands. Many of its programs, such as Greenmarket and the New Farmer Development Project, focus on providing healthy food to local communities.
As Earth Day approaches, it is important to realize how sustainability is an important part of the fight for a healthy food production system. Not only does sustainable agriculture nourish communities, it also improves public health, ensures environmental stability, and provides economic stability and growth. Projects all over the world, from urban agriculture in New York City to crop storage technologies in sub-Saharan Africa, are highlighting how agriculture is the solution. These examples and many more can be found in the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition’s Eating Planet, which highlights innovations that are sustainably nourishing the planet.